Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah flags Meta over inaccurate Kannada translations, demands immediate fix

Karnataka's Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has expressed serious concerns regarding what he deems as erroneous auto-translations of official Kannada content on platforms owned by Meta, notably Facebook and Instagram. He highlighted that these inaccuracies could distort critical information and mislead users, particularly concerning government communications. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Siddaramaiah stated, "The faulty auto-translation of Kannada content on Meta Platforms is distorting facts and misleading users. This is especially dangerous when it comes to official communications." His media advisor, KV Prabhakar, has taken formal action by writing to Meta to demand immediate corrective measures. The communication pointed out ongoing translation errors, with some outputs described as "grossly misleading." Prabhakar emphasized the grave implications of these inaccuracies, particularly when vital public messages from the Chief Minister and the Government of Karnataka are misrepresented. He also cautioned that many users may unknowingly read automated translations, leading to misinterpretation of significant announcements. The government has requested Meta to temporarily disable the auto-translation feature for Kannada until the reliability of the service is assured. Additionally, it suggested that Meta work alongside Kannada language specialists to improve the accuracy of translations. In response to the growing criticism, Meta acknowledged the issue and reported that it had been addressed. The company stated, "We fixed an issue that briefly caused this inaccurate Kannada translation. We apologize that this happened." Meta clarified that the translation inaccuracies were the result of a flaw in its AI-driven machine translation model, which is utilized across various aspects of Facebook and Instagram. The company reassured users, saying, "We have implemented a fix to ensure greater accuracy. We have provided machine translation on Facebook and Instagram for years, and we are continuously gathering feedback to improve the technology and help the model generate more accurate translations." Some users on social media have voiced support for the Chief Minister’s initiative, suggesting that the government should provide its own official translations to prevent future misunderstandings. Meta operates several platforms in India, including WhatsApp, Threads, and Messenger, in addition to Facebook and Instagram.